Over the years, a number of devices have been employed to hang armor on the armored surfaces of military vehicles. An early (1945) example of this is U.S. Pat. No. 2,380,393 to Berg. Berg secures spacers 5 to an armored surface 2. Each spacer includes a boss 6 that extends through an opening provided in an armor plate 3. A headed bolt 9 is threaded into the boss to secure the armor plate to the spacer and thus to the armored surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,273,515 to Makrenos discloses an armor vehicle in which conical springs are placed between the walls of the vehicle and armor bolted thereto. The springs cushion the vehicle when a projectile strikes against the armor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,889 to Bohne et al shows a solid rubber buffer (pacer) secured at its base to the surface of an armored vehicle by a collar 11 welded to the armored surface. A threaded bushing 7 is cast in the rubber spacer, at its outer end, for securing armor plate to the rubber buffer by a bolt 6 threaded into the bushing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,286 to Fedij shows a half spherical steel spacer 26 welded or fused to the back side of an armored tile 12. The tile and spherical spacer are attached to the hull of an armored vehicle by a threaded bolt extending through the spacer and into the vehicle surface. When an incoming shell strikes the tile in an off centered manner the bolt breaks and the tile rotates about the rounded surface of the spacer.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,236,033 to Almengual discloses an arrangement of armor in which helical springs are interconnected by clips 2 to form an impact resistant skin. Cone-shaped springs are linked together and clipped to the vehicle's surface. The interconnected helical springs are then attached to the surface of the vehicle.
There are, of course, many types of military vehicles on which applique armor may be mounted, as well as a multitude of other types of structures using spacer support systems. Each application has its peculiar characteristics and operating conditions, such as ballistic loading, noises and vibrations, etc. In providing applique (auxiliary) armor for each vehicle type, it is desirable that a system for attaching armor be capable of being easily adapted and adjusted to the particular armor/vehicle system and their dynamic conditions.
Current systems for attaching armor panels to vehicles have been demonstrated to be quite effective in protecting military vehicles from impacting projectiles. However, there exists a need for a system of applying armor to a vehicle which permits the mounting and demounting of this outer layer of armor from military vehicles, that can be effected with a minimum of tools, effort and time under field conditions.
Presently available devices for attaching spaced applique armor to a vehicle's hull require the use of bolts and the necessary tools one requires to secure the bolts. Under battlefield conditions, this need for tools can be the key factor which determines the length of time needed to secure the armor panels. Tools are quite often lost or misplaced and valuable time can be lost searching for them.
Often there is an excess supply of willing personnel and an insufficient number of tools to keep them productive. It is wasteful and inefficient to have two dozen soldiers working to secure panels to a vehicle, when they must share one or two necessary tools between them. In addition, the need for tools also makes it difficult to affix the armor panels by field personnel who are dressed in bulky protective suits. Inefficiency and difficulty produce delays which are costly and make the vehicle at least temporarily unavailable for its mission.
Furthermore, many presently available systems for applying armor panel are complicated and require trained personnel. Complicated systems having parts of many different types and shapes require the need of higher level echelon mechanics to perform the work. If higher echelon mechanics are needed to affix the armor panels, either the mechanics must be brought to the field or the vehicles must be brought to a depot or motor pool. In either event, valuable time may be lost waiting for mechanics and the vehicle will be at least temporarily unavailable for its mission.
A further problem with existing systems is that they involve modification of the vehicle's hull surface. This modification may result in degradation of the vehicles structural and/or water integrity. Dissimilar materials used in such modifications may induce corrosion which, if not addressed properly, will require expensive repair.
Another challenge in designing systems to attach applique armor to a vehicle is to reduce the weight of attaching devices. It is desirable, of course, to reduce the vehicle's weight, and it can be appreciated that a large number of dense, hard bosses and bushings attached to the outside surface of the vehicle can add a substantial amount of weight. In addition, such bosses and bushings protrude outwardly from the vehicle surface. When they are not being employed to support applique armor they are subject to being snagged and broken off. Then, when it is desired to mount applique armor on the vehicle, the bosses will not be available. These bosses also require additional space in transport and storage of such vehicles, particularly in the cramped quarters of a ship's hull when a vehicle is being transported overseas, as well as in maneuvering the vehicle amongst trees and other obstacles that may be in the way.
It would be advantageous therefore to provide a method and apparatus that can be readily mounted to existing vehicles without the use of tools and trained personnel.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a simple system for applying applique armor panels to military vehicles which does not suffer from the difficulties encountered in the traditional attaching/removing process.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a quick and easy method of replacing damaged applique armor panels without the need of tools.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of attaching a vehicle armament which will not otherwise affect the operation of the vehicle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of adding vehicle armament which can be manufactured by known manufacturing processes and existing, relatively low cost tooling, using standard hardware, materials and manufacturing technology.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an armor panel attachment method that does not adversely affect the noise signature of the vehicle during movement.
A further object of the invention is to provide a system for affixing armor which solves the above problems in a low-cost, weight-efficient manner, and in a manner that allows one to adapt mounting devices to the conditions of a particular armored vehicle system or other uses and their environments.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated with reference to the following description.